A number of world leaders, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on Friday called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to express their solidarity with India in the wake of the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai.Besides Brown, other leaders to call up Singh included Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Parliament on Friday that the "cowardly act" on February 26 in Kabul "will not bend our determination to help Afghanistan".
The Democratic Senator with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
India has completed the construction of the 218-km Zaranj-Delaram Highway in South-Western Afghanistan despite attacks by Taliban and the loss of precious lives of Indian nationals working on the project.
Less than a week after they met in Washington, DC, United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and discussed his administration's Af-Pak policy and climate change with him.
US President Barack Obama will brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with other world leaders about his new policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, the White House said on Tuesday.
There has been a sharp increase in acts of terrorism in Afghanistan since the new Pakistan government assumed office in Islamabad in March.
American Senator John F Kerry, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who just returned from a trip to Afghanistan after twisting Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's arm to acquiesce to hold a run-off election after charges of massive fraud and corruption were uncovered in the recent election, has warned that Pakistan could become the epicenter of terrorism in the world, since it is now the headquarters of the Al Qaeda.
Streets in capital Kabul were mainly quiet and tense early on Thursday as Afghans awoke and headed to the polls for an anxiously awaited presidential election that Taliban fighters have vowed to disrupt with attacks
At least three gunmen, all reported to be members of the Taliban, stormed a central Kabul bank on Wednesday morning, and are currently surrounded by police.
Afghanistan elects a new president on August 20 against the background of horrific violence.
The White House on Tuesday said it does not indulge in cash transactions in Afghanistan and all its assistance to the war-torn country is accountable to the Congress, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai had said that he received "bags of cash" from Iran and the United States.
Musharraf meets US commander over Afghan allegations
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was obviously so impressed by her meetings with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari that she ventured into the White House briefing room after sitting in on the meetings between President Barack Obama and the two leaders, to express her optimism that a solid alliance had been formed committed to crushing the Taliban and other extremist elements destabilising the region.
In all, about 290 Indians are engaged in various projects in Afghanistan.
A total of six Indians, including a Border Roads Organisation driver and four ITBP soldiers, and 129 Afghans were killed in these attacks. The 215-km long Delaram-Zaranj highway, a symbol of India's developmental work in the war-ravaged country, was handed over to Afghan authorities by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.
The Centre on Saturday ruled out the possibility of holding talks with the Taliban and said that New Delhi will only be dealing with the legitimate government led by President Hamid Karzai.India believes that Taliban is the 'antagonist and not the protagonist' and is also aware of its collusion with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba, said sources. The LeT and the Taliban are specifically targeting Indians and Indian interests in the war-torn country, said sources.
"I do not think that India has been squeezed out. I think India is playing a stellar role in rebuilding Afghanistan which has been acknowledged by the people of Afghanistan and by the legitimate Government of Afghanistan, and that is what matters," Krishna said in an interview to Karan Thapar for Devil's Advocate.
India named a road in the national capital after the slain Afghan war hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the first such honour extended to a leader from that country.
India on Tuesday said the inclusion of Afghanistan in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation would go a long way in establishing lasting peace and stability in the region.
Dr Singh and Gandhi, along with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, had the discussion with Advani on the issue during the State dinner hosted for visiting Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in New Delhi on Monday.
Terming the Kabul embassy bombing an attack on the Indo-Afghan friendship, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday declared that it would not deter New Delhi from continuing its reconstruction of the war-torn country and announced a fresh assistance worth $450 mn for it.
Karzai warned Pakistan that Afghanistan was no longer weak.
As United States President Barack Obama is about to finalise his new policy on Afghanistan, his envoy to the country has expressed his misgivings about sending more troops to the war-torn nation and raised questions on the capability of Hamid Karzai as head of the state.The two strongly worded classified cables, sent to Obama last week, were believed to have been discussed by Obama with his key national security and defence aides at the White House on Wednesday.
Kenzo Oshima led a 10-member mission to Afghanistan earlier this month.
'I actually believe it's not all that appropriate that there be an Indian Consul on the border with Pakistan,' says Afghan expert Sarah Chayes.
'Polls have shown that about 70% of Afghans are waiting to see which side to pick - the US/NATO forces or the Taliban.'
"That has its own significance of resolving our problems between Pakistan and Afghanistan, misunderstanding between Pakistan and Afghanistan," Musharraf said.
In a video found on Islamist websites late Wednesday, Osama bin Laden's deputy called all Afghans, particularly students in universities and schools in Kabul, to take on the foreign 'infidels' in Afghanistan.
Sharing concerns over the recent spurt in terrorism in Afghanistan, India and Afghanistan Monday agreed on a collective fight against the menace and sought Pakistan's cooperation.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai will undertake a week-long visit to India from April 9 to further consolidate ties between the two countries.
Concerned over increasing influence of Taliban in Pakistan, the United States on Wednesday told top leadership in Islamabad that the "era of lip service was over" and it was now time to work plans and be very specific.
'Their offices are in Pakistan. Some of their hideouts are in Pakistan,' says Afghan envoy Masood Khalili.
Women petition the Taliban. Talibs patrol Kabul's streets. Afghans flee into Pakistan.
The resolution, which was passed unanimously, would extend the NATO led force's area of operations to several provinces which are now ruled by armed warlords.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has made a special plea to Pakistan to support the country's reintegration plans. "We ask all neighbours, particularly Pakistan, to support our peace and reconciliation endeavours," Karzai told a London conference on Thursday.
"They've got elections coming up, but effectively the national government (led by Hamid Karzai) seems very detached from what's going on in the surrounding community," Obama said, clearly expressing his displeasure over the functioning of the Afghan President, considered close to former President George W Bush.
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